Food and Drug Administration and state officials don't know the cause of the outbreak, although raw, packaged spinach appears likely. "We're advising people not to eat it," said Dr. David Acheson of the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.

Eight states were reporting a total of 50 cases of E. coli illness, Acheson said Thursday. (Watch how health officials in the hardest hit state are scrambling -- 1:11)

The person died in Wisconsin, where 20 people were reported ill, 11 of them in Milwaukee. The outbreak has sickened others -- eight of them seriously -- in Connecticut, Idaho, Indiana, Michigan, New Mexico, Oregon and Utah. In California, state health officials said they were investigating a possible case there.

The outbreak has affected a mix of ages, but most of the cases have involved women, Acheson said. Further information on the person who died wasn't available.

E. coli outbreak still growingNumber of people sickened by tainted spinach at 109

Sept. 17: The warning about fresh spinach has expanded. NBC's Ron Allen reports that health officials now say all fresh spinach products should be avoided until further notice.

Natural Selection Foods has recalled all packages of its fresh spinach and any salad with spinach in a blend because they are possibly contaminated with E. coli. The affected packages have “Best if Used by Dates” of Aug. 17 through Oct. 1. Consumers with questions can contact the company at 800-690-3200. The recalled brands are:BellissimaCheney BrothersCoastlineComplimentsCross ValleyD’Arrigo BrothersDoleEarthbound FarmEmerilFresh PointGreen HarvestJansal ValleyMannMills Family FarmNatural Selection FoodsNature’s BasketO OrganicPremium FreshPresident’s ChoicePride of San JuanPro.ActPro-MarkRave SpinachReady PacRiver RanchRiverside FarmsSnoboySuperiorSyscoTanimura & AntleThe Farmer’s MarketTrader Joe’s

Updated: 45 minutes ago

SAN FRANCISCO - The number of people sickened by an E. coli outbreak traced to tainted spinach rose to 109 on Sunday, as federal officials announced more brands recalling their products.

“This is unquestionably a significant outbreak in terms of E. coli,” said Dr. David Acheson, chief medical officer with the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.

Natural Selection Foods LLC, the world’s largest producer of organic produce, has been linked to the infected greens, prompting a recall of 34 brands. Those brands include the company’s own labels and those of other companies that had contracts with Natural Selection, based in San Juan Batista, Calif., to produce or package its spinach.

On Sunday, River Ranch Fresh Foods of Salinas, Calif., added to its recall spring mixes containing spinach that were sold under the labels Hy Vee, Fresh and Easy, and Farmers Market, FDA officials said. All contain spinach purchased from Natural Selection, they said.

The recalls came as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention intervened to help in investigate the outbreak, which has killed a 77-year-old Wisconsin woman, officials said.

Spinach was a $325 million industry in the U.S. in 2005, and California produced 74 percent of the nation’s fresh crop. Salinas Valley filed like this one account for roughly three-quarters of the state’s share.

Updated: 6:45 p.m. ET Sept 19, 2006

SALINAS, Calif. - Farmers in the self-proclaimed “Salad Bowl to the World” started plowing their spinach crops under and laying off workers as government inspectors examined fields and packing houses Tuesday for the source of the deadly E. coli outbreak.

After poring over water quality reports, worker hygiene tests and other food safety measures, the inspectors were unable to pinpoint immediately how the bacteria made it into locally grown bagged spinach, causing one death and sickening more than 100 other people across the country.

And it is increasingly likely they will never zero in on the source, said Robert Brackett, director of the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Sciences.

FDA investigators visited fields and factories in the Salinas Valley that have been linked to the two companies that recalled spinach products — Natural Selection Foods and River Ranch Fresh Foods.

The teams also inspected other locations, looking for evidence of contaminated runoff; checking for animal droppings in the fields; examining sanitary conditions inside the plants where produce is processed; and taking samples from produce itself. E. coli is commonly spread by human or animal feces.

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